Drive shaft seals

[Broadside]

Can the the drive shafts be pulled from the output shafts by just removing the top of the upright / damper? I put oil in the gearbox today and, as I half expected, it leaked from both seals

[jbcollier]

Undo the shock and the lower link to get the half shaft off.

First question, is your transaxle quiet?  Or, does it whine on or off throttle?

If it is quiet, by all means, change the seals and o-rings.  If not, you should pull the transaxle and set up the ring and pinion backlash properly.

Be careful and systematic when changing the seals.  It's not hard but it is also easy to $%#! it up.  The seals are push in from the inside so you have to remove the diff adjusting nuts to change the seal.  Do one at a time.  Mark the original position carefully.  Also carefully count the turns as you remove the nut so you can get it back into EXACTLY the same position.  Don't forget the o-ring behind the seal run/spacer.  The spacer has to "pop" over the o-ring.  It's a bit of cuss to get back in place.  Usually the best way is to use the weight of the car on the half-shaft to push it all the way into place.

Lastly, make sure you carefully shim your half-shafts when you are done.

[Broadside]

Undo the shock and the lower link to get the half shaft off.

First question, is your transaxle quiet?  Or, does it whine on or off throttle?

If it is quiet, by all means, change the seals and o-rings.  If not, you should pull the transaxle and set up the ring and pinion backlash properly.

Be careful and systematic when changing the seals.  It's not hard but it is also easy to $%#! it up.  The seals are push in from the inside so you have to remove the diff adjusting nuts to change the seal.  Do one at a time.  Mark the original position carefully.  Also carefully count the turns as you remove the nut so you can get it back into EXACTLY the same position.  Don't forget the o-ring behind the seal run/spacer.  The spacer has to "pop" over the o-ring.  It's a bit of cuss to get back in place.  Usually the best way is to use the weight of the car on the half-shaft to push it all the way into place.

Lastly, make sure you carefully shim your half-shafts when you are done.

Thanks for that, the procedure you describe is exactly how I'd planned to do it, although I wasn't aware of an O ring so I'll be prepared for that. I also haven't studied the shim procedure yet but I have seen mention of it in the manual, so again, I will read up first.
As for the condition of the diff, I don't know, I've never driven it. I want to get the seals done then run it up and do some checks and decide on my plan.
Thanks again for the advice.

[Broadside]

Undo the shock and the lower link to get the half shaft off.

First question, is your transaxle quiet?  Or, does it whine on or off throttle?

If it is quiet, by all means, change the seals and o-rings.  If not, you should pull the transaxle and set up the ring and pinion backlash properly.

Be careful and systematic when changing the seals.  It's not hard but it is also easy to $%#! it up.  The seals are push in from the inside so you have to remove the diff adjusting nuts to change the seal.  Do one at a time.  Mark the original position carefully.  Also carefully count the turns as you remove the nut so you can get it back into EXACTLY the same position.  Don't forget the o-ring behind the seal run/spacer.  The spacer has to "pop" over the o-ring.  It's a bit of cuss to get back in place.  Usually the best way is to use the weight of the car on the half-shaft to push it all the way into place.

Lastly, make sure you carefully shim your half-shafts when you are done.

Today I decided to pull the transmission on the theory that the drive shaft seals where rock hard so the input shaft seal is likely to be the same. It will never be easier to take it out. So I assume I'll have to pull the bell housing to change the input seal and therefore I may as well look at the diff and re-set it while I'm at it.